Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 October 2004
295 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will give consideration to making positive improvements to the means test which is urgently in need of revision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23531/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraSocial assistance payments feature a means test which is intended to ensure that available resources are targeted at those most in need.
In recent years, considerable improvements have been made to means tests to allow persons to qualify more easily for payments, to retain more of their income before payments are withdrawn or to withdraw payments more gradually if means exceed a certain level.
The improvements have included the fact that the income disregard for carer's allowance was increased from €191 to €250 — single — and from €382 to €500 — couple — over budgets 2003 and 2004. This amounts to a €59 increase in the disregard for a single person and a €118 increase in the disregard for a couple. The assessment of benefit and privilege for unemployment assistance recipients who are living in the parental home was abolished for those aged 29 years or more, with effect from May 2003. This initiative was further developed in budget 2004 when the maximum age was reduced further to 26 years.
The past two budgets have also allocated an increase in the income disregard for the family income supplement, FIS, payment of €5, for all family sizes. In addition, budget 2004 abolished the assessment of rent supplement from the calculation of assessable income for the payment of family income supplement, thus ensuring that people in receipt of FIS and rent supplement retain the full value of their payments.
In line with the current arrangements for one parent family payment, the treatment of maintenance in the assessment of means for disability allowance, unemployment assistance, farm assist, pre-retirement allowance, old age non-contributory pension, widow's and widower's pension and blind person's pension was standardised in budget 2003. Any further changes to the current means assessment arrangements would require the allocation of additional resources and, accordingly, would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
